We live in the world of injustice. What we see is evil, murder, abuse, corruption, partiality, discrimination, rape and the list goes on…We can all sense the injustice around us because we are made in the image of God, we have been given the ability to do Justice. The other sad reality is that we’re not just the recipients or victims of injustice, but also the perpetrators of injustice (even if it’s done in small ways). So how does a just and righteous God deal with injustice around us and injustice because of us? What does God expect from us? Listen to the sermon to find out.
Christianity is based on historically verifiable facts. It is not a myth. Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as a substitute for sinners, His burial, and His resurrection prove that He was indeed the Son of God came to this world to save the sinners. His resurrection has been confirmed by many people throughout generations including secular scholars today. In this passage, we learn that a Christian is called to hold fast to this truth, because on this historically verifiable truth that his hope and faith in Christ sustains.
Right beliefs lead to right living. Our behavior indicates what we actually believe deep down in our hearts. In Christianity, a person needs to know, believe and trust that Jesus Christ died as a substitute for his/her sins, only then that person is saved and accepted by God. However, Christian life is not just about believing in Jesus, but also showing forth good works (right living) as a result of knowing and trusting in Jesus (right belief). In this sermon, we learn that right belief and right living are interconnected in christian life because that’s exactly what the Bible principally teaches.
Corporate Worship exists primarily to honor God, to remember His promises, to praise Him for who He is and for what He has done for us. So if the worship is all about Him and not about us, then we’re required to do so in a way that He has commanded us to worship Him, not the way we think He should be worshiped. In this passage, the Apostle Paul confronts disorderly worship practices in the church, and gives us instructions on how to worship God decently and in order.
What does the Bible say about divorce? What does it say about remarriage? Before we seek answers to these reasonable questions, we need to ask – “what does the bible say about marriage?”. When we know what marriage is meant for, can we really understand how to deal with divorce. Not only does this passage help us understand about marriage and divorce, but it also helps us understand about singleness (widows and widowers).
We live in a culture that both glorifies sex and abstains from it. We see young people indulge in all kinds of sexual immorality where marriage has become a joke or unnecessary, we also see married couples being indifferent towards each other and it makes everything mechanical between them. In this passage, we see how the gospel has an answer to both singles and married couples in the church.
Sexual Sin or adultery are not something you try to tackle with or negotiate; you just flee from them. If you don’t flee from these sins, they will destroy both your body and soul. Most importantly, we learn from this passage to flee from sexual immorality because they’re also the sins for which Christ was crucified so that we could be saved; our body and soul were bought for a price.
Christians are called to handle conflicts (to whatever extent) in a different way and in a different place called Church. In other words, Christians are forbidden to take their brothers to court. Why are they forbidden? Because of the gospel! In this passage, we learn how the gospel becomes the basis on which we deal with conflicts and forgive one another, regardless of the kind of sin committed.
In this passage, we learn the duties of a Christian Preacher. This is not just applicable to seminary students, pastors and scholars, but this is applicable to lay Christians as well. It’s applicable to Christians, because they’re called to protect themselves and others in the church from false teaching or even teachings that may not be related to the message of salvation. Christians are called to evaluate a Preacher’s preaching, because it’s only through proclaiming Jesus Christ and Him crucified can a person be saved, and this is the only way can a Christian grow spiritually. Gospel must be at the center of every faithful preaching.
Mahatma Gandhi did not accept Christ’s death on the cross to be a penalty for the sins of the whole world; likewise many leaders, scientists and philosophers find it hard to accept Jesus Christ as the Messiah. Cross of Christ is the only hope for the world, because Jesus is the only God-Man who has the ability to take the sins of the world upon Himself and save sinners. This Gospel is foolishness to those who are already on their way to eternal destruction, but this Gospel is also life-giving to those who are seeking to be forgiven of their sins. This sermon shows us how the Cross is ultimately the Power of God to bring us unto life of joy and hope.
